Some 40 miles northwest of Barcelona, the rugged chalk cliffs of the Sierra de Montserrat (national park) tower over the Santa Maria Monastery, a national shrine for the Catalan people. As early as the Middle Ages, it developed into an important pilgrimage site after the legendary discovery of a statue of the Virgin Mary, and [...]
The city’s most elegant street, which is home to some excellent buildings in the modernist style, is Passeig de Gràcia, right in the heart of the Quadrat d’Or (”Golden Square”). Artistically decorated streetlights, intricate mosaics on the pavement and expensive shops are all indicative of the exclusivity of the people of Barcelona at the beginning [...]
The Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya (MNAC) is housed in what was originally the Spanish Pavilion for the 1929 World’s Fair. Since 1934, the museum has been home to one of the most precious collections of medieval European art: paintings, board games, painted wooden ceilings, sculptures, altarpieces and chests.
Among the highlights are the original Romanesque [...]
Narrow, winding streets, atmospheric squares and a high concentration of magnificent buildings all lend the Gothic Quarter, the oldest part of the city, its character and charm. The town hall and the seat of the Catalan government, the latter an excellent example of Gothic and Renaissance style with its beautiful inner courtyards, face each other [...]
